The Clark Report
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News, Culture, More Than 140 Characters
January 2010
In This Issue
Get Your PHX- 1st Anniversary
Get Your PHX's Big Plans
The Latest from the Campaign Trail
2010 in Preview
Renter Wanted
The World According to GARP
In Other Market News...
CenPho Community
Get Your PHX 1st Year Anniversary
Artists, Food and Music at amenZone


amenZone


The goal of Get Your PHX is to show up, en masse, to support those who pioneer new restaurants, stores, bars and event spaces. We want to provide them a boost as they put their sweat, tears and wealth on the line to make life great downtown. Plus, we want to provide a chance for you to meet others like you, who want to get the most out of Phoenix.


Well! Get Your PHX-mas in December was just about the biggest party I've seen all year!

OK. I guess the presidential inauguration was a little bigger. But that didn't have Heidi and Doug Abrahamson's �ber-hip style at Phoenix Metro Retro. Nor was the Surfside IV playing anywhere that I saw in DC last January.

I think we had almost 150 people come through last month. There were gift bags, tons of food and an incredible CenPho crowd. We have a whole list of new collaborating businesses who will become part of the Get Your PHX family.

Thank you, everybody, for making the Get Your PHX-mas such a success, especially the host committee: Kyleigh, Kate, Monika and Amy.

So, what's to do for January?

You've heard me talk about the amenZone before (a lot). Well, owner Amen Iseghohi is morphing his very "primal" workout space at 106 E. Buchanan St. in to a space for many uses.

He now has an all-fresh, organic juice bar and he offers everything from Yoga to Zumba (whatever that is) and he will be opening up his space as an art gallery for future First Friday events.


Amen has become enamored with the role he has adopted on Buchanan St. The folks living in the Stadium Lofts and worker bees in the warehouse district see Amen's space as a possible anchor for new business development in that area.

So, this is an interesting experiment: can a health and fitness joint also serve as a local catalyst for new businesses?

This event will host art by local artists (to be announced on our Facebook Page next week), with live Zumba dance demonstrations, a live deejay, spoken word poetry, samples from the juice bar and a little early evening nosh.

It's an urban carnival!

January Get Your PHX
Thursday, December 21st from 5:30 to 8:00
amenZone
106 E. Buchanan
Phoenix, 85004
Map here

Now, folk, this is a labor of love. We are ordering food, drinks and a dejay. Please, bring $5 or $10 to help support the effort, and throw it in the pot.

Please RSVP to me via email or through Facebook so I can get an accurate count. 

Get Your PHX: Big Plans in 2010

The Get Your PHX host committee met and decided to take Get Your PHX to a whole new level.

GetYourPHX1) We are accepting business sponsors for the food and beverage portion of the event.

2) We will highlight local artists at every event.

Now, you purists out there should'nt worry. Get Your PHX will not turn in to an in-your-face marketing free for all. Our goal is to make the event free, while pairing new host businesses and sponsors in such a way that it further builds connections and
our CenPho community.

Sponsoring businesses will be asked to provide some portion of the food or beverages, along with information about their business. In return, we will include the business name in all of the event announcements.

Think PBS, not Home Shopping Network.

It worked so well for Get Your PHX-mas, that we are excited about doing it again and again.

So, if you own a business or know of a business that would like some very targeted exposure, please ask them to contact Kyleigh Merrit at [email protected].

If you know of a restaurant or food vendor, please contact Monika Woolsey at [email protected].

If you know an artist who would like to be highlighted at a future Get Your PHX, please have them contact Kate Kunberger at [email protected].

And, thanks again to the following businesses that contributed to Get Your PHX-mas!



The Latest From the Campaign Trail

Ken in 10


We raised almost 20% more for the campaign than our end-of-2009 goal. Thanks, everybody!

The campaign kickoff on January 6th at After Hours Gallery was packed and we got a great start on our 2010 fund raising goals.

Kickoff party

I know that every candidate says this, but I am thrilled with the overwhelmingly positive response that we are getting for the campaign.

The website is up! Please visit at www.kenclarkforaz.org. We will  add policy position papers, video feeds from around the district and commentary from folks in the district.

Please sign up through the web site. We need volunteer help with many critical campaign tasks.

If you missed this event, please let us know. There will be many regular receptions to follow.

Please make contributions to "Ken Clark Leadership Committee" by check, on the website or PayPal at [email protected]. Send "snail mail" contributions to P.O. Box 2101, Phoenix AZ 85001.

Always include your name, address, occupation and employer.


The portion of this email that is used to talk about the campaign is paid for by the Ken Clark Leadership Committee, Hon. Sam Coppersmith, Chair.
2010 The Year in Preview

Aveda InstallBaseball player and manager from the 1940s, Casey Stengel, once said "never make predictions, especially about the future."

Wise man. However, I don't play baseball. I am a real estate agent and I see some things in 2010 that I want to share with you.

1) Watch for another rush for houses leading up to the May deadline for the extended $8,000 tax credit. Now repeat buyers can take advantage up to $6,500. 

Check out the chart, below. Last November we saw even distressed houses sell quickly with multiple buyers. Notice how sales for the three weeks leading up to the end of November are higher than they were in 2003-04 (the last "normal" years we had).  This is attributable to people rushing the market.

Sales Per Month

Further evidence is that prices continued to push upward in a quarter of the year where the market historically softens.

Average Sales Price

There will be several factors pushing prices up in the spring: 1) the usual spring rush, 2) the extended and expanded tax credit and 3) improving economic numbers.

2) Rumors abound that the banks are going to flood the market with newly-foreclosed homes. Not likely. Banks know from economics 101 that when you flood the market, prices go down. They are going to release houses in a regular and metered fashion.

3) Condos are going to be very, very cheap for a while. Because of some changes to FHA rules, people using FHA-backed loans cannot purchase most condos. Until they are all re-certified, they are untouchable by FHA borrowers. As a result, you can pick up a condo for well under $100,000 if you can swing conventional or borrow from your rich uncle.

4) If you are thinking of selling, things are getting better. Your future depends on two things: 1) some areas, such as historic neighborhoods, are rebounding better and 2) how much equity you have in the house. Here is a good measure, average home sales are now at about 2001 levels. If you purchased before 2001, you can probably break even on a sale right now. This is great news if you are trading up to a bigger, better house while prices are low.

5) Watch for a gradual up-tick in home prices and continued strong sales numbers, but don't expect a complete rebound. We are still at a low area in the market. It is still a great time to pick up a property as a first time home buyer, if you are "trading up" or investing.

Give me a call. I'm more than happy to help you navigate the market: 602-561-5881.

Renter Wanted

I mentioned last month that I am renting my house at 747 E. McKinley St., walking distance from just about everything cool downtown.

747 E. McKinley St. NewI've since then prepared it for rental and I wanted to get you some of these pictures of the inside.

It is a 1925 bungalow, renovated in 2006 with a new bathroom, new kitchen, laundry, security, all new landscaping and an inviting updated front porch.

I even renovated most of the old double-hung sash windows so you can open the place up the way it was meant to be. It is about 1,100 square feet with 3 bedrooms and 1 bath.

Check out the virtual tour here.

This property is available immediately. Please contact me at [email protected] for inquiries.

The World According to GARP

Last month I wrote about the possibilities of commuter and passenger rail in Phoenix and Arizona. While deciding which tracks to use for these trains would be complicated, it was really the up-front costs that keep Arizona from moving toward the future in this regard.

Trolly #116But one man is trying his best to move the train down the track on a smaller scale --one which could still help encourage the growth of more expansive rail use in Phoenix.

Robert Graham wants a trolley on Lower Grand Avenue and he isn't waiting for a government agency to get around to it. He has been quietly making the rounds and building alliances around a proposal for a short-run trolley car line that would cost in the low millions --cheaper than most new roads with greater economic impact.

He calls it "GARP", the Grand Avenue Rail Project.

His local focus and realistic vision makes me think that we just might be able to pull it off in the near future.

Here is the skinny:

Graham (not the guy in the picture, above) is the the Principal Architect at the Motley Design Group, a design firm that has done a number of historic preservation projects around Arizona and Phoenix.

Graham, knowing that there used to be rail on Grand Avenue decades ago, looked out on the old road from his desk at his firm and asked "why not now?"

He saw the potential for a short-run trolley that serves as transportation, a local attraction and a way to support all of the businesses along "Lower" Grand Ave., from Van Buren to Roosevelt.

If you've ever been on Grand, you know that most of the old buildings there are perfect for a future business and shopping district --no master planning necessary. The buildings are close to the street, with street parking and lots of broad, traditional facades.

4th Ave TrolleyGraham was inspired by the Old Pueblo Trolley that runs on 4th Avenue in Tucson, and which helped revitalize that street. And in his position as an architect working in Phoenix for decades, he could see how all of the pieces could fit together.

Shackelford House Trolley BarnPiece #1: The Phoenix Street Railway Museum. A small group of rebels against the growing freeway culture bought one of the last remaining bodies of an original Phoenix streetcar in 1975. Since that time, working out of a streetcar "barn" at the Ellis-Shackelford house in downtown Phoenix, they have restored one car to working order and are working on a second. In other words, we have the vehicle.

Piece #2: Storage and right-of way. Graham points to acres of unused space under the I-10 freeway at 15th Avenue and Grand that could be used as storage, maintenance and a kind of small switch yard for one or two cars. See the map, below.

Trolley RenderingPiece #3: Business Support. The fledgling Grand Avenue Merchant's Association (GAMA) fully supports the idea of a street car line along Grand Ave., and one property owner has suggested lending space for a streetcar museum. The problem: "fledgling" means they have no money to do it themselves.

Piece #4: Institutional Support. Graham is looking for support from the city to consider plans to lay track along the middle lane of Grand Ave. This track, unlike the new light rail track, is relatively cheap to install. There are no expensive curbs and extra signals. While Graham suspects that the streets and transportation planners at the City might worry about reducing the car carrying capacity of Grand Ave., he looks forward to conversations about how to make it work.

He sees the work in four potential phases, starting with moving the train cars to a new storage yard under I-10, along with a small trolley museum (about $500,000).  Phase 2 and 3 lays tracks from the I-10 south to Van Buren (another million dollars). A potential Phase 4 could then connect Grand Ave. to the light rail station at 1st Ave and Van Buren --the most complicated and costly phase.

However, this last phase would mean that you could ride the modern light rail in from the burbs, jump on the old Trolley and visit all the galleries and sites that will inevitably populate Grand Ave. Now, that's economic development.

GARP Map
Photos Courtesy of Motley Design Group

While Graham admits that his cost estimate are very preliminary and "pulled out of the air," he is hopeful about getting start-up funds from what are called T-21 Transportation Grants, through ADOT.

According to Graham, the grants are extremely generous, needing only a 5% match to get funding. That's $25,000 to get a $500,000 grant.

Grant is looking for help with his idea. While he is still making the rounds to get critical political and bureaucratic support, he also needs volunteer grant writers, fund raisers and advocates. If you are interested in joining in the cause, contact Grant at [email protected].

I've lived in several cities with this kind of trolley system in place and I think Graham's vision is perfect for the times. While it will be tough to get the kind of money to get started, this is the kind of "low dollar" project, that if started soon, could be in place in time for the next big boom in downtown redevelopment.

It could secure Grand Avenue's identity as a historically significant, locally-owned alternative to the mega-mall.
 
In Other Market News...

Foreclosure Sales on the Courthouse Steps
Yes, it actually works this way...

Free Fair Housing Seminar
If you are one of the fine folks that are now proud new landlords because you picked up a rental property this year, this applies to you, too.

More Medical Investments Downtown
Another reason why we should not fear the future downtown.

CenPho Community

Circles Discs and Tapes Closes
This is a blow to the community...

60,000 People Short of a Congressperson
Only 60,000 more residents and we could have had another $200 billion. Oh, well.

Where to Recycle Your Christmas Tree
This might be a little late, but here is some info on where recycle your Christmas tree.

Downtown Visioning Conference, Jan 15-16
If you've ever thought about getting involved in the future of CenPho, this is a great group to get involved with.

Kimber Lanning is My Hero
Kimber Lanning is one of the most interesting people in the state right now, and her organization Local First AZ is one of the most promising groups for our future.

Look for more recent posts on www.GetYourPHX.com.

Final Words, Compliance and Other Legal Stuff

As always, I respect your right not to be bothered with annoying spam email. If you would like to be removed from my email list, just let me know. Thanks!


Sincerely,
 
Ken Clark

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